Kiss, Nirvana make the cut for Hall of Fame

Dec. 17, 2013

Updated 3:43 p.m.

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of US rock group Kiss perform live on stage, for a one-off Independence Day show as a fundraiser for the Help for Heroes charity, at The Kentish Town Forum on July 4, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images) Stringer

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of US rock group Kiss perform live on stage, for a one-off Independence Day show as a fundraiser for the Help for Heroes charity, at The Kentish Town Forum on July 4, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images) Stringer

First-time nominee Nirvana, the masked men of Kiss and the long-overlooked duo Hall & Oates are among the legends who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the Class of 2014 ceremony is held April 10 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Peter Gabriel, already honored in 2010 as a member of Genesis, as well as Linda Ronstadt and Cat Stevens (the singer-songwriter now known as Yusuf Islam) round out the rest of the Performers category.

The E Street Band, who weren’t inducted alongside Bruce Springsteen in 1999, will receive the Award of Musical Excellence. Beatles manager Brian Epstein and the Rolling Stones’ first manager and producer, Andrew Loog Oldham, will be given Ahmet Ertegun Awards for non-performers.

“For once … I’m speechless,” said Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl in a statement. Artists become eligible 25 years after their first recording – the 1988 single “Love Buzz,” in the case of the seminal Seattle trio led by the late Kurt Cobain, who were expected to get in on their first try.

“From the basements, to the dingy clubs, to the broken down vans, to ... the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Grohl’s comments continue. “I’d like to thank the committee not only for this induction, but also for recognizing Nirvana for what we were: pure rock and roll. Most of all, thank you to all of the fans that have supported rock and roll throughout the years, and to Kurt and Krist (Novoselic), without whom I would not be here today.”

Added the band’s bassist in the same statement: “This is a great honor. Thank you to the people who nominated and voted for us. Thank you most of all to Kurt Cobain. And to everyone who’s kept Rock music going strong for 60 years and counting.”

Nirvana received the second-most votes in the fan ballot, garnering 15.69 percent of the tally. Kiss, whose legion of hard-core devotees, like Rush’s, had grumbled for years about the band’s absence from the Hall of Fame, received the highest share of the 1.4 million fan votes cast, snagging 17.2 percent. That fan ballot ultimately counted as one among the 700-plus submitted by industry professionals.

John Oates shared with Billboard that he and partner Hall are gratified to finally be getting inducted. “I will be there with bells on,” he says. “I felt that the Rock Hall, the powers that be, had a point of view and that we didn't fit into that point of view and it didn’t bother me because if that’s how it is, that’s how it is. I kept saying, ‘If it happens, it happens, and if it does it’s going to be great.’ So I’m really going to enjoy it and I think it’s a great class, so to speak. I think the artists are really cool and I’m honored to be in this particular class and with all the other prior inductees.”

Among those on the nominees ballot but who didn’t make the final cut include rap acts N.W.A and LL Cool J, hard rock band Deep Purple, disco mavens Chic, British group the Zombies, indie rock forebears the Replacements, funk/soul mainstay the Meters and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

This past April the induction ceremony was held in Los Angeles for only the second time, at Nokia Theatre. Next year it moves back to New York, but unlike previous exclusive affairs that took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, this one follows L.A.’s lead and will be open to the public. Tickets go on sale in January. The event will be televised on HBO in May.

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